The disparity is all the worse when trends are considered. While AIDS cases and deaths remain level, those of Parkinson's are inexorably climbing while those of Alzheimer's are flying off the chart.

Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis are the ninth leading cause of death in this country, causing three times as many deaths as AIDS. Compared to those 100 million Google hits for AIDS over the past year, "nephritis" got just 1.3 million. Far more importantly, the Medline database lists fewer than 2,000 total published medical papers on nephritis, compared to 21,000 on HIV/AIDS in just the past year.

Further, the vast majority of federal AIDS spending can't possibly lead to a cure or vaccine or prevent a single new case. Of the approximately $26 billion budgeted this year for HIV/AIDS, only 11 percent will go for research and 3 percent for prevention. The rest is care, cash, and housing assistance.